To Do or Not to Do: Semantics and Patterns for Do Activities in UML PSSM State Machines
State machines are used in engineering many types of software-intensive systems. UML State Machines extend simple finite state machines with powerful constructs. Among the many extensions, there is one seemingly simple and innocent language construct that fundamentally changes state machines’ reactive model of computation: doActivity behaviors. DoActivity behaviors describe behavior that is executed independently from the state machine once entered in a given state, typically modeling complex computation or communication as background tasks. However, the UML specification or textbooks are vague about how the doActivity behavior construct should be appropriately used. This lack of guidance is a severe issue as, when improperly used, doActivities can cause concurrent, non-deterministic bugs that are especially challenging to find and could ruin a seemingly correct software design. The Precise Semantics of UML State Machines (PSSM) specification introduced detailed operational semantics for state machines. To the best of our knowledge, there is no rigorous review yet of doActivity’s semantics as specified in PSSM. We analyzed the semantics by collecting evidence from cross-checking the text of the specification, its semantic model and executable test cases, and the simulators supporting PSSM. We synthesized insights about subtle details and emergent behaviors relevant to tool developers and advanced modelers. We reported inconsistencies and missing clarifications in more than 20 issues to the standardization committee. Based on these insights, we studied 11 patterns for doActivities detailing the consequences of using a doActivity in a given situation and discussing countermeasures or alternative design choices. We hope that our analysis of the semantics and the patterns help vendors develop conformant simulators or verification tools and engineers design better state machine models.
Mon 23 JunDisplayed time zone: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna change
10:30 - 12:30 | RE and DesignResearch Papers / Demonstrations / Journal First / Industry Papers at Andromeda Chair(s): Ipek Ozkaya Carnegie Mellon University | ||
10:30 10mTalk | PF2UML:A Tool for Problem-Oriented Requirements Modeling and Transformation Demonstrations Hongbin Xiao Guangxi Key Lab of Multi-Source Information Mining and Securit(Guangxi Normal University), Zhi Li Guangxi Normal University, Yilong Yang Beihang University, Fei Tang Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, Dongming Jin Peking University, China Media Attached | ||
10:40 10mTalk | DReM: Efficiently Generating Domain-Specific Requirements Modeling Tool Demonstrations Ruixin Geng Beihang University, Jiahao Weng Beihang University, Ning Ge School of Software, Beihang University, Jingyao Li Beihang University, Chunming Hu Beihang University | ||
10:50 20mTalk | Incorporating Verification Standards for Security Requirements Generation from Functional Specifications Research Papers Xiaoli Lian Beihang University, China, Shuaisong Wang Beihang University, Hanyu Zou Beihang University, Fang Liu Beihang University, Jiajun Wu Beihang University, Li Zhang Beihang University DOI | ||
11:10 10mTalk | Theano: A Tool for Verifying the Consistency and Completeness in Tabular Requirements Demonstrations Aurora Francesca Zanenga University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy, Nunzio Marco Bisceglia University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy, Benedetta Ippoliti University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy, Andrea Bombarda University of Bergamo, Angelo Gargantini University of Bergamo, Akshay Rajhans Mathworks, Claudio Menghi University of Bergamo; McMaster University | ||
11:20 20mTalk | Evaluating Large Language Models for Requirements Question Answering in Industrial Aerospace Software Industry Papers Longxing Yang Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Yixing Luo Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Hao Gao Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Yingshuang Fan Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Jingru Zhang Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Xiaofeng Li Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Xiaogang Dong Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Bin Gu Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Zhi Jin Peking University, Mengfei Yang China Academy of Space Technology | ||
11:40 20mTalk | To Do or Not to Do: Semantics and Patterns for Do Activities in UML PSSM State Machines Journal First Márton Elekes Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Vince Molnár Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Zoltán Micskei Budapest University of Technology and Economics Link to publication DOI Pre-print | ||
12:00 10mTalk | Merlin-A: A tool to engineer adaptive modelling languages Demonstrations Pre-print Media Attached | ||
12:10 20mTalk | Unlocking Optimal ORM Database Designs: Accelerated Tradeoff Analysis with Transformers Research Papers Md Rashedul Hasan University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Mohammad Rashedul Hasan University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Hamid Bagheri University of Nebraska-Lincoln DOI Pre-print File Attached | ||
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